Congratulations are in order to Yemeni reporter Jamal Amer, who a month from today will receive one the prestigious International Press Freedom Awards in New York.
Astute readers of this blog may an old post profiling Amer's groundbreaking journalism - and subsequent persecution. Quick refresher: Amer is the editor-in-chief of the independent weekly newspaper al-Wassat and was abducted by military thugs and beaten outside the capital city Sanaa for an expose on state corruption. Specifically, he revealed that all government scholarships to Yemeni students studying in the US, UK, and Canada were all sons of ministers, prominent sheiks, ambassadors, or relatives of President Saleh.
Here's how the Committee to Protect Journalists describes Amer in bestowing upon his the Press Freedom Award:
Jamal Amer is the courageous editor of one of Yemen’s most independent weeklies, Al-Wasat, whose reporting on corruption, religious militancy, and sensitive political issues has triggered a number of frightening threats and attacks. In August 2005, he was seized by four men believed to be security agents and held for six hours. The assailants beat him, accused him of being paid by the U.S. and Kuwaiti governments, and warned him about defaming "officials." The men drove a blindfolded Amer to the top of a mountain, where they threatened to shoot him. His abduction shocked Yemeni journalists, who took it as an explicit warning against the sort of enterprising journalism that had been a mark of Al-Wasat. Just days before Amer’s kidnapping, the paper ran a daring story alleging that several government officials were exploiting state scholarships to send their own children to study abroad. This year, pro-government newspapers have accused Amer of being an agent of the West, and his family has been subjected to government surveillance.
Mabruk, Ustaz Jamal! And keep up the good work.
What makes the private gathering particularly unusual is that it united not only activists from a range of political ideologies, but also from the external and internal opposition.
Posted by: air jordans | March 18, 2011 at 10:46 PM
hmmm...Your blog site is excellentI haven’t any word to appreciate this post…i will read more. Hope we can become good friends, and exchange and to help each other!iL4Uv29
Posted by: UGG Boots Outlet Store | December 11, 2011 at 03:04 PM